DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY

What is Philosophy?
Whenever a question such as what is philosophy is asked, no straightforward answer can be
given. Because of the complex nature of the discipline it is not easy to define philosophy in a
way acceptable to every philosopher. For instance, it is easy to ask a student of biology or
physics what the definition of their respective disciplines are and get a straight forward answer.
But this is not possible with philosophy. Philosophy as a discipline does not have a universal
definition. So the first problem a student of philosophy encounters is that of the definition of
philosophy. Philosophers do not agree among themselves on what philosophy is. Either they run
away from defining the subject or they mostly do so according to their various schools of
thought, culture and even tradition. That is why for most introductory textbooks on philosophy,
the best way to define philosophy is to do philosophy.
But you should remember that even if there is an element of truth in this approach, the logic
behind it is not hundred percent correct. You do not necessarily need to practice something
before you explain or understand it. For instance, someone interested in the definition of death
does not necessarily need to die before he explains or understands it. If he is told that the only
way to define death is to die first, he is likely to give up the attempt. Even if the best way to
define philosophy is to expose the student to the rigours of deep philosophizing, this remains
partial. What you should always have in mind is that when a student of philosophy asks a
question “what is Philosophy” he has started philosophizing and to philosophize is to wonder
about life and about the fundamental problems of human existence.

Layman’s Understanding of Philosophy

In the absence of a universal definition or understanding of philosophy, the discipline has been
given various meanings and definitions. This section focuses on one aspect only which is the
conception of the discipline by the layman. And by layman, I mean the average man-in-the-
street. According to William Halverson, there is a popular belief of the meaning of philosophy,
and since this is one of the common ways in which people who are not professional philosophers
understand and use the term, it is one of the strongest impressions that people have of philosophy
(1967:4).
My Philosophy of Life To the average man-in-the-street, philosophy is used first to mean “an
attitude towards a certain line of action”, a ‘general view of life or a general theory or principles
about how we ought to conduct our lives” (Halverson, 1967: 4). That is why in the street if you
ask a common man: “What is your philosophy of life”? You will get answers such as: “My
philosophy of life is to take things gently” or “I don’t like the philosophy of the capitalist system
of government”. You can see here that for a layman, a person’s philosophy becomes “the sum
total of his fundamental beliefs and convictions” that is, the main principles that guide or control
his life. To Halverson, this impression of philosophy is understood to have a very practical
orientation. And a philosophy of life… include views on such things as the nature of man and
man’s place in the universe, some convictions about what things are worth and so on (1967:4).

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Taking Things Philosophically This is another way the common man understands philosophy.
You can remember that in our daily lives sometimes when someone looses a very close relation,
he is advised to take it philosophically. For H. Harold, this implies that the individual sees the
problem in its broad perspectives or as part of a large scheme of things: hence he faces the
situation calmly and reflectively with poise and composure (1997:10).
In this situation, “taking the loss of someone philosophically” simply means that the person
rationalized death believing that whatever will be, will be irrespective of whatever any man may
think or do.
And for Joseph I. Omoregbe, whatever happens happens necessarily and “there is nothing any
man can do to prevent it from happening” (1989:26). The person’s intention here is to see birth
and death as part of the universal scheme. In other words birth and death are all part of life.
Being a Philosopher or Getting Philosophical
You can remember that in our daily lives, when two individuals engage themselves in an
argument on a given topic and one excels in sustaining his position in a systematic, logical and
consistent manner, the person is often qualified as “being a philosopher”.
At other times, when someone makes an imprecise and vague statement about something, that is,
a statement that cannot be easily explained or understood, to a layman, the person is simply
“getting Philosophical”.
In conclusion, you should always remember that to the layman, philosophy is concerned with
matters that are uncommon, profound, beyond the understanding of most men, or at worst simply
vague and imprecise.

Academic Conception of Philosophy

As stated earlier, there is no straight forward answer to the question: “what is philosophy?” We
have two ways to understand philosophy. The first way is that of the layman as discussed above.
The second is the concern of this section that is, the academic or professional conception of
philosophy. You should always bear in mind that the professional or academic understanding of
philosophy is almost the opposite of that of the layman. Unlike the layman, the professional
philosopher begins to define philosophy from its origin. According to academic philosophers,
philosophy originated from the Ancient Greek City State of Miletus. This was around the late 5th
and early 6th Century B.C. But you should also quickly remember that this Eurocentric view
which limits the Origin of Philosophy to the Ancient Greeks has been criticized and rejected by
some contemporary African philosophers. To some African philosophers such as Eboussi
Boulaga, Marcien Towa, E. Njoh Mouelle and P.O. Bodunrin, philosophy also has an African
origin. There existed early intellectual, scientific and philosophical activities in ancient Africa
long before their European or Western counterparts began any meaningful philosophical inquiry.
It is on record that Ionian Philosophers especially Pythagoras and Thales visited Africa notably
ancient Egypt and “were educated in all disciplines of knowledge by African teachers.” In the
preface to the African Origin of Greek Philosophy, P.O Bodunrin says:

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  It is impossible to think that the Greek or western Philosophers would not have been
influenced by African thought.
According to Onyewueny (1987), “what is called Greek Philosophy should be regarded as haven
been stolen from Africa.” Any one that claims that Greece is the only birth place of philosophy
commits an unforgivable historical mistake. It is also an unfortunate deliberate attempt to
discredit the achievement of the black people and a gross injustice to the contributions of African
Philosophy.
“Love of Wisdom”
You should always bear in mind that despite the critic of Eurocentrism as aforementioned,
ancient Greece remains the first place in Europe where philosophy was systematized as a
discipline. Pythagoras was the first to make a standard comment about the nature and definition
of philosophy. He was a Greek mystic, mathematician and philosopher. It is on record that
“when he was called Wise man, he said that his wisdom only consisted in knowing that he was
ignorant and that he should therefore not be called a wise man but a “lover of wisdom.”